Nathan Feuerstein known to many as NF has stormed back to the rap game releasing his latest album ‘HOPE’. NF is known for releasing a couple of singles leading up to the album release which he did yet again by releasing ‘Hope’ and ‘Motto’ which ended up being the first 2 tracks on the tracklist.

NF’s music videos always have the ability to tell a story and provide a more serious dark tone that leads many to call him “corny” simply due to the fact that he talks about his own struggles and not women, drugs, and money.

‘Hope’ was no different than the opening track on the album as the video opens with him in all white which is different from the all-black attire he has worn throughout ‘The Search’ the last album he released. Throughout the song, you hear or see 2 voices/people going back and forth one being the white-attired NF and the black-attired NF. The black represents the old NF, sad and dark side while the white shows the new NF trying to change and have hope. The black is trying to shut down the white, a metaphor for his struggles which have had a hold over him for so long trying to take over the new NF in all white trying to change for the better.

During the video, the black-attired NF  pushing the new version of him into the water transitions into him falling into a mansion which adds yet another meaning as ‘Mansion’ a single he released years ago was explained as a place that contained all of his struggles, a place that he doesn’t want to be in and the old NF is pushing him back to that point in his life. The mansion contains everything from his past videos giving die-hard fans a load of nostalgia.

The song ends with the new NF on a mountain and you see the old NF taking over until the new NF is able to “take the reins”, taking control of his story and shutting out the old NF permanently.

After a strong opening in ‘Hope’ NF then releases another song with yet another video which was ‘Moto’ where NF talks about his beliefs and where fits within the music industry. He talks about the pressure that is put on you and how he doesn’t fit in with the big names.

In the opening verse of ‘Motto’ NF raps, “I could sell my house and move out to LA. Get inside rooms with the biggest of names hire fifty people just to give me advice on the way I should write. Oh, God. Yeah, sounds like a nightmare, if you ask me.” Stating he doesn’t want the normal LA lifestyle a majority of big-name rappers live.

NF has a tendency to have quite a few emotional songs circling around the demons in his head. ‘Hope’ is more of a turn as in songs like ‘Mama’ he talks about the topic of losing his mother from addiction, something he’s tackled multiple times with anger along with sadness in another song, ‘How Could You Leave Us’. He takes this record in another direction, NF provides a forgiving vibe telling his mom that “we all make mistakes” and that he “hopes his mom found peace in heaven.

Although he’s pushing towards a happier life in the album, ‘Happy’ talks about how unnatural it is for him to be happy with lyrics like, “I need help but I can’t imagine who I’d be if I was happy.” He admits that he isn’t ready to fully embrace a happy life, being more comfortable living in his agony and not building bridges that were burnt between his loved ones.

Songs like, ‘Motto’ , ‘Careful’, ‘Let Em Pray’, and ‘Turn My Back’ are all about how he is nothing like the mainstream rappers not caring to have his songs on the radio. Something new in this album is NF calling out other rappers.

NF is able to hit multiple genres along to go along with his ability to rap being able to use pop elements and show off his vocals in tracks like ‘Mistake’ and ‘Running’.

The album as a whole is a strong outing for NF, being able to show improvement in his songwriting and rapping ability, along with showing personal improvement of him growing into a better person and happier person.